ROV Mercury

Under construction! (page and ROV)

The ROV Mercury is a simple observation class ROV constructed primarily from PVC pipe and fittings and driven by off-the-shelf bilge pumps. It's powered by a 12V battery and controlled with a simple handheld box of switches and buttons, which operate relays onboard the ROV. Mercury features a single colour camera, which is always on, and a single LED lamp which can be toggled on or off from the control box. The planned tether length is 30m (about 100 feet), representing the suspected maximum survivable depth of the bilge pumps.

The Mercury project is currently on hold, as I'm living in the US for work for a year or two and I left the ROV behind in Australia. Before leaving, I developed the ROV to the point of it surviving a bathtub test with the thrusters and camera (but not lamp) wired up. It worked, albeit not super well. When I get back to Australia I'll eventually start trying to salvage it.